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(No Model.)

R. W. MATTHEWS. Mechanical Musical Instrument.

Patented April 12,1881.

N.PETEHS, PHUTO-LIIHOGRAPMER, WASHINGTON. D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT W. MATTHEWS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,156, dated April 12, 1881.

Application filed January 19, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it-known that I, ROBERT W. MATTHEWS, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to musical instruments which are adapted to be operated manually by a key-board or mechanically by means of a music card or tablet which is fed through the instrument. Such instruments are of two kinds, one kind having but a single set or series of sound-producing devices, which may be controlled either by the manual keys or by the music card or tablet separately, and the other kind having two sets or series of soundproducing devices,one controlled by the manual-keys and the other by the music card or tablet, so that either series of sound-producing devices may be operated separately, or both series may be operated.

My invention is applicable to both of the above-described kinds of instruments; and the object of the invention is to enable the player to readily and without moving from his seat at the instrument disconnect the treadle which operates the mechanism for feeding the music card or tablet in instruments having but one series of sound-producing devices, or which operates both the feeding mechanism and one bellows in instruments having two series of sound-producing devices, so as to provide for operating the instrument manuallyalone.

The invention consists in the combination, in a combined manual and mechanical musical instrument, of a connecting rod or link provided with a groove or guide and a hole in said groove or guide, means for actuating the said rod or link by a pin engaging with said hole, and a device contiguous to the key-board of the instrument for moving said rod or said means to cause the disengagement of said pin from said hole or its engagement therewith. Preferably the means for operating said connecting rod or link consists of a treadle, and the connection between said rod or link and the treadle consists of a pin on the treadle engaging with a hole in the connecting rod or link,and the said rod orlink is also constructed with an arc-shaped groove or guide, in which is said hole. The rod or link is disconnected (No model.)

from the treadle by moving it sidewise sufficiently to disengage the hole therein from the pin on the treadle, whereupon the pin on the treadle will work in said arc-shaped groove or guide until said rod or link is moved back to cause the said pin to engage with said hole as the treadle is moved to bring said pin opposite said hole.

The invention also consists in novel features of construction in the mechanism through which the draw-rod operates to disconnect said connecting rod or link from and connects it with the treadle.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurel rep resents a side view of an instrumentembodying my invention, a portion of the case being broken away to better illustrate certain parts. Fig. 2 represents a detail section upon the dotted line 00 as, Fig. l, and upon a larger scale. Fig. 3 represents a sectional view, upon a larger scale, of a portion of the connecting rod or link, which receives motion from the treadle, and a side view of mechanism for moving it sidewisc; and Fig. 4 represents a transverse section upon the dotted line yy, Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the case of a combined mechanical and manual instrument, which may contain either one or two series of sound-producing devices.

B designates a dotted outline of a key, showin g the position of the key-board, whereby the instrument may be operated manually; and O G designate a dotted outline of a shaft and fly-wheel, which serve as means of imparting motion to the music card or tablet for operating or controlling the operation of the instrument mechanically. Any suitable means, including a music card or tablet, may be employed for operating the instrument mechanically, the music card or tablet being actuated from the shaft 0. The shaft 0 may constitute one of a pair of feed-rollers, between which the music card or tablet is drawn; and what I term a music card or tablet may consist of a strip or sheet of paper or a tablet of some thickness having notes produced by perforations in the paper or tablet or by projections upon the same.

D designates a treadle, which, in this example of my invention, constitutes the means for operating the instrument mechanically, and E designates a connecting rod or link connected with the treadle and with a crank upon the shaft 0. The treadle D might also be connected with a bellows for exhausting or compressing air for the operation of the soundproducing devices. The treadle D is provided with a pin or projection, a, here shown as on the side, (see Fig. 2,) and the rod E is provided with a groove forming a guide, I), here shown as arc-shaped, with which the pin may engage and with a hole, 0, of a size to receive said pin. If the rod or treadle be moved slightly sidewise, the hole 0 will be disengaged from the pin a, and as long as the treadle is worked the pin will play up and down in the groove 1) and prevent the rod from moving backward or forward away from the treadle, while it imparts no reciprocating motion to it. When it is desired to connect said rod and treadle either one or the other should be moved sidewise while the treadle is being worked," and as soon as the pin a reaches the hole 0 it will at once engage therewith. In this example of my invention I have represented the red as movable away from the treadle; but the treadle might be moved away from the rod, if desirable.

The rod E is moved sidewise to connect it with and disconnect it from the treadle by means of a device which is arranged contiguous to the key-board B, so that the player can readily and without leaving his seat or stooping down provide for operating theinstrument mechanically or manually. This device is shown as consisting of a draw-rod, F, arranged in the position of the ordinary stop-draws, as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 1. The drawrod F is connected with one arm of a bellcrank lever, G, (shown in dotted outline,) to the other arm of which is connected a downwardly-extending rod, G, which is connected at its lower end with an elbow-lever, H, the form of which is shown clearly in Fig. 2, and which is pivoted or fulcrumed at d.

I designates a channel or way formed by two angle pieces or plates, 0, attached to the side of the rod or link E; and e designates rollers, pivoted by a pin,f, to the end of the lever H, and upon each side thereof, and fitting in the channel I. The forward and backward movement of the lower end of the rod E, produced by the arc-shaped path described by the pin a upon the treadle, is provided for by rounding the adjacent ends of the rollers e and fitting the pinfloosely in a hole in the lever H.

When the draw-rod F is pulled out the rod G is raised, vibratingthe lever H, and, through the rollers e in the channel I, drawing the rod E sidewise away from the treadle sufficiently to disengage the hole 0 from the pin a, but not sufficiently to disengage the groove 1) from said pin. When it is desired to connect the treadle with the rod E the draw-rod F is moved in, and the mechanism, operating in a reverse direction to that above described, forces the rod E toward the treadle, and if the treadle be worked the pin a will engage with the hole 0 as soon as it arrives opposite the same.

It is evident that a lever or other device might be substituted for the draw-rod F, and that the mechanism through which said drawrod or device acts upon the rod E might be modified. For instance, a cord or strap and pulleys might suflice.

While I have only shown means for engaging and disengaging a connecting rod or link with or from a treadle, it is obvious that the treadle might be permanently connected with a shaft or other device, and that the connecting rod or link might be engaged with and disengaged from the same. For instance, a connecting rod or link might be moved laterally away from a crank upon the end of said shaft to disengage the crank-pin from a hole and allow it to work in a circular groove in the rod or link. In this case, to avoid the difficulty of imparting motion through the connecting rod or link from a crank to a crank, the upper end of the connecting rod or link may be made to operate on a pawl and ratchetwheel or equivalent mechanism. Whatever the particular device which is employed to transmit motion to the connecting rod or link, the groove in the latter will be made to allow of the movement of said devicein the grooves without affecting the said rod or link.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination, in a combined manual and mechanical musical instrument, of a connecting rod or link provided with a groove or guide and a hole in said groove or guide, means for actuating said rod or link by a pin engaging with said hole, and a device contiguous to the key-board of the iustrumentfor moving said rod or said means to effect the disengagement of said pin from said hole or its engagement therewith, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, in a combined manual and mechanical musical instrument, of a connecting rod or link provided with a groove or guide and a hole in said groove or guide, a treadle provided with a pin which engages with said hole, and a device contiguous to the key-board of the instrument for moving said rod or said treadle to effect the disengagement of said pin from said hole and its engagement therewith, substantially as specified.

3. In a musical instrument adapted to be operated manually or mechanically, the combination of a treadle provided with a pin or projection upon its side, a connecting rod or link for use in operating the instrument mechanically, having in it an arc-shaped guide for said pin and a hole in said guide for the reception of said pin, and a draw-rod contiguous to the manual key-board of the instrument, whereby said rod may be moved away from the treadle to disengage said pin from said hole and toward the treadle for effecting IIO the engagement of said pin with said hole, sub- G, the rod G, and the lever H, carrying a stantially as specified. roller 0r rollers engaging with the channel I,

4. The combination of the treadle I), carrysubstantially as specified. ing a pin, a, the connecting rod or link E, ROBERT W. MATTHEWS. 5 having in it an arc-shaped groove, 11, and a Witnesses:

hole, 0, for said pin, and comprising a chan- J. A. NIGHOL, nel or guideway, I, the draw-rod F,'the lever JOHN S. MORGAN. 

